27 Goddess of Strength and Speed (II)

All the employees wore loose-fitting black pants and different coloured t-shirts that signified the department they belonged to.

There were seven departments in Nero Incorporated; General Management, Operations, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Human Resource (HR), and Purchasing.

Lai's team, the Sales Department, wore blue t-shirts.

The General Management Department wore yellow. The Operations Department wore black, the Marketing Department green, the Finance Department red, the HR Department purple, and the Purchasing Department orange.

As teams waited for the competition to begin, Bai was chatting with his business partner and friend, Xia Min.

"Don't you have work to do?" Bai asked Min.

His eyes remained glued on Lai, who was chatting to Na.

"Why do you always come to these athletic meets, Min? Are you bored or something? Is work not keeping you busy enough."

Min followed his gaze and saw that his friend was looking at Lai.

"Your employees won't be happy about this again," Bai continued, causing Min to let out a soft chuckle, "Go back to work."

"And miss out on seeing you like this?" Min smirked, "No way, man!"

Bai lifted his eyebrows, perplexed.

"Like what?"

"A lovesick puppy," Min instantly replied.

Bai sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead.

"Besides," Min shrugged as he continued, "My employees understand how much I enjoy your athletic meets. They are always so entertaining!"

He leaned forward and pointed at Lai. Bai looked at where he was pointing.

"Who is she?" he heard his friend ask him, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"My PA."

Min leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms.

"So, she's the new PA you told me about?" he mumbled, "Is she good at her job?"

Bai nodded.

"What else is she good at?" he heard Min ask suggestively, causing him to clench his jaw.

"I'm not like you," Bai blurted.

Min broke out in cold sweat at his friend's instant reaction.

"No, don't get me wrong!" he waved his hands dismissively, darting his eyes from him to Lai and back to him again.

He bit his lip.

"I don't mean it in a bad way," he rubbed the nape of his neck, "I just mean...Well, you know...You've been staring at her since I got here, dude."

Bai sighed, calming down. He slowly ran his hands through his black hair, glanced back at Min, and sighed again.

"Am I being that obvious?" Min, to his surprise, heard him ask.

"W-what?" Min gawked, mouth agape.

"She is special," Bai confessed, folding his arms.

He threw his head back and stared at the cream-coloured ceiling.

"Don't tell me you..." his friend paused, "You like her?"

Bai remained silent and fixed his gaze on the ceiling. Min sighed and nodded.

"I take it your silence means 'yes' then?" Min stated, not expecting a reply from Bai.

Min watched as Lai spoke to Zhenya and giggled. He understood why Bai had fallen for her- she was a beauty.

'She would do so well as a model,' Min thought, 'She certainly has the height for it.'

He rubbed his eyes, and Bai looked away from the ceiling, fixing his gaze on Lai again.

"I can see why you like her, though," he heard Min state, "But just a word of advice as your friend: Be careful of women. Some come with bad intentions."

He stared at Min, who had a serious expression plastered on his face. His friend was clearly worried about him.

"Listen," Min placed his hands in his pants, "I'm not trying to say that she's like those other women you've gone out with. I just want you to be careful who you let into your life. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Bai smiled and stared at Min.

"I know," he nodded, patting Min's shoulder, "I appreciate it and will be careful."

His gaze fell on Lai again.

"This time feels somewhat different," he added, placing his hand on his lap, "Like she's the one for me. She's a strange woman, though."

"Strange?" Min tilted his head, "How so?"

Bai sighed, covering his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"She avoids all my advances," he mumbled, causing Min to lean his head down so that he could hear him.

"That so?" Min smiled, feeling amused by his friend's PA.

"She also tells me to be professional," Bai added, "She is here for work, not to fall in love or dating."

Bai lifted his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I understand all that," he added, "but I guess it does hurt a little that she's uninterested."

Min nodded in understanding.

"I know, man," he pressed his lips together, "Rejection hurts. How come you hired her? Do you know how shocked I was when I heard that you got a new PA?"

Bai shrugged.

"I didn't think you'd get another PA after...you know," Min added, staring into space.

"Because she's the one who saved me that night," Bai said, causing Min to freeze and stare at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"She...It was her?" he asked Bai, who nodded.

"I owe her my life," Bai steepled his fingers and stared at Lai, who was nodding at something Jingyi said.

He smiled and continued to watch her. Meanwhile, Lai felt anxious about the first race, a 50-metre race.

"I want to apologize in advance," Lai said to Na, clasping her hands together.

"Apologize?" Jingyi questioned, looking confused.

"What for?" Zhenya inquired, rubbing her cheek.

Lai sighed and rubbed the nape of her neck.

"Well," she began, "I haven't run in a long time, so I might be a little rusty. I don't know if I can be your saviour."

Lingxin pat her shoulders reassuringly.

"Don't feel too pressured, Lai," he told her with a smile, "Just do your best. We are already thankful that you signed up for all the race events."

"Yeah!" Na nodded, "You do your best in the races and leave the rest to us. We'll be sure to support you."

"That's right!" Jingyi and Zhenya said in unison, nodding their heads.

Lai smiled and nodded.

"Thanks. I'll do my best!"

Someone stood in the middle of the basketball court, holding a microphone. The athletic meet was about to commence.

"Hi everyone!" the person roared, "I'm your MC for today from the General Department. Call me Chi-Chi! We are about to start our first event, the 50 meter race."

The employees clapped and cheered.

"Now," Chi-Chi resumed, "Could I have those participating in the race take their positions in the sellotaped lanes?"

Lai turned and looked at her teammates.

"Good luck!" Na and Lingxin exclaimed in unison.

"Break a leg!" Zhenya said and gently face-palmed, "No, wait! Don't break a leg. Argh, sorry. You know what I mean."

Zhenya blushed and clasped her hands together.

"You've got this!" Jingyi cheered, "Just think that the boss is holding the envelope with the hotel reward and waiting at the finish line."

They all gave her a thumbs-up, and she nodded with a smile.

"I'll do my best!" Lai stated, giving them a thumbs up.

She walked to the fifth lane, feeling her heart race. She let out a long sigh to calm her nerves.

'This takes me back to high school,' she thought, biting her lip.

On her left was someone from the Operations Department, and an employee from the HR Department was on her right.

A male employee from the Finance Department was in the first lane. He looked confident as he stood tall and proud.

"Do be careful when you run as the floor may be a little slippery. All right!" Chi-Chi exclaimed in excitement, "On your marks..."

Lai and the other employees crouched on the floor.

"Get set..."

Lai lifted her body.

"Ready..."

Bai and Min watched as her eyes narrowed. When she lifted her head up, she was staring at the finish line held by a Marketing and Purchasing Department employee.

"GO!" with that, Chi-Chi blew her pink whistle and so the race began.